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of opposition—large and small, young and old, brawlers
and technicians—a rarity in the modern fight game.
By early 2021, Serrano had to consider the same thing
Pacquiao debated for the better part of the last decade
before retiring—in theory—last year. What more could
she accomplish? Along with Taylor and the supremely
talented (and also undefeated) Claressa Shields, Serrano
had ushered in another women’s boxing resurgence. She
had won 26 straight bouts. What was left?
That’s where the inf luencer comes in.AS JAKE PAUL transformed from a lucrative sideshow
into an improving, if oversold, professional boxer, those
who questioned his bona fides often missed the salient
points he made. He ra iled aga in t he a lphabet soup of sa nc-
t ioning bodies, t he percentage of purses t hat went to t he
actual fighters and the poor treatment of women’s boxers
from all but a few promoters. He fought on the same card
as Serrano in January 2020. They took a photo afterward,
as Paul described Serrano’s “superstar” performance,
before realizing she wasn’t much of a superstar beyond
her record. How could a boxer with Serrano’s pedigree,
he wondered, still make something like $20,000 a fight?
The pairing made sense. Each had what the other
lacked. Paul, despite several instances of unacceptable
behavior, understood promotion and had millions of
followers. Serrano didn’t love promotion, let alone get it,
but held the in-ring credibility Paul sought.
Serrano fought on Paul’s last two cards, in August and
December of last year. Between them, an idea surfaced.
Why not sign Serrano, adding an accomplished boxer
to Paul’s new management company and giving her the
resources and paydays she long ago justified? “It’s funny,
but it takes an inf luencer, this young kid who’s just started
boxing, to acknowledge that this game is hard,” she says.
“And he wants to continue to push for what we deserve.”
Taylor, the Garden and a purse so large that Serrano
is looking at houses in Florida and Puerto Rico mark
the next step in their new, ambitious plan. But there’s a
contradiction in the Taylor fight, too. Serrano is grate-
ful for Paul and his—ahem—inf luence, enticed by the
larger stage, ready for her moment. But she refuses to
let this fight or the latest twist in her career define her
any more than Operation Dumbbell. Don’t mistake that
for redemption, which Serrano is not seeking. Instead,
understand that it’s more of a culmination of everything
she has fought through for her place in sports history,
a night like the one upcoming, for the career she says
will end at 35.
Serrano refuses to be reduced to one-half of the biggest
fight ever staged in women’s boxing, Paul’s sidekick or
the worst parts of her family history. For now, the only
date she needs is April 30, when thousands of cellphones
will train on the boxer who has never owned one, while
Serrano, after years of creating the spectacular out of
the routine, will attempt to turn a spectacle into just
another night. Another contradiction, huh?